About Us

Through our collaborative research, program development, and community engagement, grounded in Baltimore, but extending to other urban communities in the United States, our vision is to work collaboratively to ensure equity in schools in urban communities.

Collaborative Research

In the CIUE, we believe collaborative research and evaluation inform larger, public discourse around all facets of urban education. For this reason, our faculty works in collaboration with urban schools and community organizations to help them meet their needs from the ground up. The community is therefore integral to the research and evaluation process. Loyola’s School of Education has a strong history of relationships with Professional Development Schools, in which University faculty members work within schools where undergraduate students do internships and student teaching. This close collaboration, along with other school partnerships, enables the CIUE to learn directly from classroom teachers about challenges they face. The schools can also help with data gathering and trials of new programs and approaches. Community partners assist by funding research projects with specific, practical goals regarding K-12 education in urban environments. Finally, the CIUE has the capacity to disseminate the research in ways that are agreeable to the community to inform the public sphere.

Program Development

The CIUE sponsors cutting edge urban education programming for the broader Baltimore community on an on-going basis. Events have included lectures by nationally renowned urban education scholars such as Pedro Noguera, Gloria Ladson-Billings, and Adrienne Dixson. As well, the CIUE has collaborated with Baltimore organizations such as Wide Angle Youth Media, the Baltimore Curriculum Project, and the Enoch Pratt Free Library for panel discussions and film screenings.

Community Engagement

At the CIUE, we believe that advocacy and community engagement foster genuine collaboration with urban communities. For this reason, at the CIUE we believe in taking a stand on behalf of urban education and urban students, whether that means providing research for advocacy organizations, lobbying in Annapolis or another state’s capital, composing opinion pieces news organizations, or generally speaking out publicly in other venues. Additionally, community engagement also means providing professional development to urban schools or other educational organizations.

The Center for Innovation in Urban Education is a collaborative initiative involving Loyola University Maryland faculty members and graduate students, as well as community partners. Learn more: